Photo: Time / Katarina Stevanović
While Diana Hrka is on hunger strike, on the other side of the fence music is playing from Ćaciland. Behind the political spectacle, the question remained: who pays for the song and at what price? The same obligation to respect copyright applies to all organizers of public gatherings
The previous week was marked by another bizarre scene. Those who support the current regime gathered in the so-called Chacilenda, they went one step further. While standing on one side maypole whose son died in the fall of the canopy, for whose death no one has yet been held accountable, just a few tens of meters from her the music was blaring. The progressives celebrated, probably not knowing what they were doing.
For days, the songs echoed from a large number of loudspeakers from the so-called Ćaciland, aimed directly at the face of Diana Hrka and the people who supported her during the hunger strike.
Hrka is still on hunger strike, citizens support her, Ćaciland is guarded by the police, some contractors are fenced off and criticized such use of their music, and the song has died down in the meantime. Whether because someone realized how inappropriate the act was, or for other reasons, remains unknown.
But, apart from ethical dilemmas, the question also arises: can authors and performers protect their rights? Can they ban the performance of their songs at public gatherings? And - who will pay for all that in the end?
And the amount could be around one and a half thousand euros in just one day, more precisely for Wednesday when the two-hour rally was organized.
To the organization of music authors of Serbia "Sokoju" during this year, in which numerous political gatherings and protests were organized, no organizer of any gathering reported the use of music, although this is a legal obligation. This organization that protects copyright does not get involved in politics in any way and adheres to Balasevic's verse: "And everything is according to the law, there are paragraphs so grab it fairly for both faith and unbelief."
"This is a year of intense political gatherings where a lot of music is used. We don't know who all the organizers are, but we know that songs were often played without anyone addressing us," Dejan Manojlović, the director, told Vreme. Sokoja.
The organizers of the rallies in Pionirski Park and in front of the Serbian Parliament did not address Sokoj, nor did they report the use of music. The same is the case with gatherings to which the students invited, which have been held throughout Serbia in the past year.
Anyone who plans to play music is obliged to request permission and to report the repertoire and the number of visitors after the meeting, so that Sokoj can charge for usage and distribute the money to the authors.
According to the Law on Copyright and Related Rights, authors have the right to receive royalties through Sokoj, and they can protect their moral rights independently if they are violated.
In the event that the application is not received within 15 days before the event about what will be played, that is, within 15 days of the held meeting with the list of tracks and the number of visitors, Sokoj is requesting compensation from the organizers.
If even then they do not charge for the use of music, the last instance is the court. And in Sokoj, they say that past experience has shown that they always win such cases, and that in the end the payment comes. Sometime and many years later.
The law also provides for joint and several liability: if the organizer does not report and does not pay, the owner of the space assumes the obligation.
In the case of a street - it is a city. Therefore, if Sokoj does not find an organizer of the festival in Ćaciland, Belgrade will formally pay for the music.
The same applies to the gatherings to which students were invited and held in numerous cities in Serbia.
"Sokoj always tries to find an organizer and charge a fee, regardless of the political nature of the event. Sokoj does this regardless of who organizes the gathering - whether they are supporters of the government, the opposition, students or anyone else. If it is not possible to determine who the organizer is, the obligation to pay the fee is on the owner of the space," explains Manojlović.
The fee depends on the number of visitors. The police, after the gathering in Ćaciland last Wednesday, announced that there were 47.500 people.
By law, the fee for political events is paid per day, calculated according to the number of visitors. For a gathering attended by between 30.001 and 50.000 people, according to the MUP data, in front of the Assembly on Wednesday, the tariff is 5.000 points, where one point is 12,66 dinars (without VAT).
This means that the organizer of the event held on Wednesday should pay 63.300 dinars without VAT.
And if the organizer does not report the event in the manner and within the deadlines stipulated in the Tariff, Sokoj will charge a fee in the amount of 13.000 points per event. In the case of the rally held on Wednesday, the amount in that case would be 164.580 dinars without VAT.
Gatherings of up to five thousand people are charged at a rate of one thousand points, while the rate for gatherings with up to 10.000 people is 2.000 points. Gatherings attended by between 10.001 and 30.000 people are worth 3.000 points. Gatherings with between 50.001 and 100.000 visitors are charged at a rate of 8.000 points, and gatherings with more than 100.000 people at a rate of 13.000 points.
Music in Ćaciland was played on the first day of Diana Hrka's hunger strike, November 2.
In the following days, several artists came forward and objected to their songs being used in such a context.
According to the Law on Copyright and Related Rights, the author has the exclusive right to oppose the use of his work in a way that threatens his honor or reputation. It is the so-called moral copyright.
"If the author does not want his song to be used at political gatherings, the organizers must respect that. If not, the next step is the court," they state in Sokoj.
Moral rights are personal and are not transferred to Sokoja. Interpreters (performers) are not authors, but the law allows them to oppose the use of their interpretations in a way that endangers or may endanger his honor or reputation.
That is why, for example, Danica Crnogorčević could refrain from using her song - because her husband is the author of the composition.
What seemed like a "celebration" in Ćaciland could turn out to be a legal and ethical problem.
Because music, even from a political loudspeaker, has its author and its price.
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